


내 이름은(My Name)

by altairstars



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: M/M, Main Seongjoong, Merman Park Seonghwa, hongjoong is a hermit witch, mer!hwa, mer!woo, no beta we die like men, possible bottom!hwa, side woosan, witch!joong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27584237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altairstars/pseuds/altairstars
Summary: Hongjoong remembered that he would always ask his mother if mermaids and sirens were real since his earliest years. His mother would reply with a yes, but sadly, she said to him not to get too ambitious searching for them in the future.“What’s your name? Mine’s Hongjoong, Kim Hongjoong.”“Don’t have one. Parents never bothered to give me one."
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	내 이름은(My Name)

Hongjoong remembered that he would always ask his mother if mermaids and sirens were real since his earliest years. His mother would reply with a yes, but sadly, she said to him not to get too ambitious searching for them in the future.

Yet, here he is, in the middle of the ocean, midninght, alone, holding out an oil lamp on his right hand and a dagger on his left on a small boat. His oars were by his sides, not dangling randomly on the boat, and a rope has been readied too just in case. He knew his way back home, but in these very waters, people have said to actually witness a mermaid swimming around.

Hongjoong noticed that something was odd. Something was breaking through the waves and coming for him. But sharks and other predators don’t usually hunt at night—what could have it been? A kraken? No, too small for that. A killer whale? Probably, it’s snout is round. A lost seal? Could be too. But then, a head emerged.

With black, long, wet, silky hair that reached up a far as it’s waist, it’s head rose up from the waves. The bright, almost shiny blue eyes peeked from the thin veil of hairs and met his dull brown ones on one fine moment. But it seems hostile the next blink, because it was swimming fast to the small boat that he had been on, fast enough as a blink of an eye. His dagger clinked as it met with the boat’s floor, and he nearly lost his grip on the oil lamp as well.

It’s soft, translucent-skinned, clawed hands grabbed the tip his boat, and nearly toppled over as it hoists it’s body up so that it’s face could be seen clearly.

“What are you doing here? In the middle of the ocean, when the moon is high?” It’s— _no_ , his voice is certainly not what Hongjoong would have expected. It was deep, but comforting and velvety as he speaks.

“I… how the hell should I say this? I was looking for your kind. And I want to prove people wrong that you aren’t just a man-eating monster they have always known.”

The merman’s breath hitched, as he slowly carded through his hair to reveal his marvelous, beautiful, gorgeous, sculpted-by-the-gods face. Now Hongjoong realized the mer had bangs that was as long as his cheekbones, and there he was, nearly choking on his own saliva by just by looking at the mer’s doe-like eyes.

It was then that Hongjoong realized one of the mer’s eyes were actually blind—it was colored white, and a fresh looking slash marred on it’s ethereal face.

“What happened to your face?” Hongjoong asked, hoping that he would not scare the mer away.

“Got into a fight. Was accused of treason to my own kind, because I was attracted to land ever since I could barely swim.”

“Oh… then why did you approach me?”

“I was hoping that I would just die in a man’s hand. I want to kind of like, disappear into thin air, as nobody would ever look for me.”

“I don’t want to kill, obviously, but would you mind if I help you heal the wounds? My hut is not far from here, it’s just by the delta over there,” Hongjoong pointed eastward with his left hand—as his house was behind him, and the mer said he wouldn’t mind.

As the mer approached the man’s hut, he noticed a small change on the waters, it being less salty and less planktons caught up in his gills. The man pointed the house just by the waters, and as he rushed inside, the mer waited patiently outside, hands laying on the soft grass as he plays with them.

Hongjoong came out holding thin pieces of long-white fabric in his left hand, while the right had brought bottled things that the mer was never curious to know about. Whether it is poison or potion, he doesn’t care. As long as he didn’t have to go back to his pod anymore.

Hongjoong now looked at the mer’s jet-black and slick tail that glimmers under the moonlight, and noticed that there were scars littered everywhere on his body too.

“For the love of god, what have they done to you?” The mer knew too well that this question is only rhetorical, and he remained silent throughout the treatment.

“What’s your name? Mine’s Hongjoong, Kim Hongjoong.”

“Don’t have one. Parents never bothered to give me one.”

“Then how do they call you?”

“They don’t. They simply dragged me with their claws and told me what to do while at the same time scratching my back until it bleeds with those dirty hands.”

“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

“And also, if a mer were to be given and or to acknowledge a name, he or she would be bonded with the person who said theirs for the first time, forever. No escape, no anything. That is why only mated mers have names.”

“That’s new knowledge for me, but I have to sleep, and as you said earlier, it’s midnight. See you around, I guess.”

The next morning, Hongjoong was not surprised when the mer is gone. It’s normal, isn’t it? Even though Hongjoong’s hut is isolated from the community, boats sometimes went there too to catch fishes in the evening. 

But what surprised him was that the mer actually came back to him just as the sun sets down. With hands full of fishes and a bag of gold coins, the mer gave them to him.

“Thank… you?” He was weirded out, for sure, but then for the first time, he saw a mer smiling. It was soft, genuine, and loving, reminds him of his own mother’s fond smiles.

“I’ll be in the nearby cave if you want to look for me.” The cave that Seonghwa mentioned was only accessible via a small boat, and nobody really dared to stay there as there were no other passage except the sea.

Those black tail swished fast, and the mer left him again. His white, blinded eye reminds Hongjoong of the stars, and as for now, he’ll call the mer Star—before he could come up with any other, that is.

For weeks, they communicated. And as they got closer, the man may or may not have developed a small crush on the long haired merman that he chats with every sundown. Hongjoong taught little magic tricks that involve waters, and much to his liking, Star can actually use them and even use the tricks against him.

“Hey! No splashing! Ughh you just ruined my favorite shirt! Take this!” Hongjoong pointed his hand, and the mer’s face were splashed by a small wave. Giggles and cakcles resonated through the walls, happily filling up the empty space that resided between them.

One day though, Hongjoong came down to the cave just to cry because of a breakdown—his coven leader had pressured him to take an apprentice, preferably other magical creatures apart from humans.

The mer, who is usually calm and collected, had sang for him until Hongjoong sleeps on his tail, warm soft breaths hitting against his black scales. Star had put Hongjoong on to his boat, then gently pushed it way back to the delta to tie it there.

“Hey, Hongjoong, you’re home, go get some sleep on the bed.” The clawed hands pressed gently against the man’s chest, just enough to wake him up. It startled Hongjoong just for a bit, but then he remembered what had happened before, and thanked his Star because he was brought home.

At first Hongjooong hadn’t realized it was dawn until the sound of bells chiming woke him up. He had installed a rope in the bell, so that Star could actually call him if he’s in need of anything. He sluggishly went off the bed, and when he was just about to open the back door, the bell chimed again.

“I’m coming!” He said with sleep still clinging on his strained voice. “Why were you calling me in this wee hour?”

“I just thought… maybe I could be your apprentice? I mean, I kind of already am, but… I’ve been thinking about this over the night, and I thought maybe it wouldn’t really hurt to try.” The news slapped sleepy Hongjoong on the head, as his eyes widen and jaws slackened upon hearing that.

“What? Are you serious? Do you trust me that much? What if I took advantage of you-”

“You wouldn’t, I know it.”

“Are you really, really serious?”

“Yeah, and I want you to be the first one to call my name.” Hongjoong liked it when the mer is bold, even though he’s definitely a bottom.

“Sure, my star.” It was the first time that Hongjoong had said the cute nickname out loud. He used to keep them to himself, but now that he thought of how only mated mermaids have names—he started to wonder, did the merman like him back? Upon hearing the nickname, the mer too, got flustered.

He was in the verge of tears trying to compose a name suitable for the inky black tails glimmering eyes. Sure, something about stars, but there were many, many of them. Byeol, Byeolyi, Byeolhee, Byeolhan, Seonghee, Seongae…..Seonghwa? _It means: to be a star_. “Seonghwa.” Hongjoong tested them in his tounge, and it rolled of naturally as if he was calling the name for the millionth time already.

The mer had actually met him midway to the cave. As the waves clashed to the wooden boat, his inky black hair rose from the water. It was unusual to see him having the blue-ish glow on his skin, which only happens when he’s genuinely very happy about something.

“What got you so happy, my Star?” Hongjoong asked, he’s pretty oblivious.

“Well, you see, I had this big dream of wanting to have a name… and I knew it was impossible to have one under the waters as all my pod mates don’t have any interest other than torturing me so… it feels nice knowing your dream could actually come true.”

That, was the longest sentence Hongjoong had ever heard from his Star.

“I have good news then, your dream going to happen, Seonghwa.” The mer was surprised hearing the foreign name. It felt unusual yet familiar to his heart, and deep down inside, his insticts were screaming that the name was meant for him.

“Do you… not like it?” Hongjoong asked, this time he really is nervous. But then the mer, his Star, hoisted his half-man half-fish body on the boat, then with his wet body, he rushed to hug Hongjoong.

“I don’t like it, _I love it_.”

It was then Hongjoong realized his right pinky finger was connected with the mer— _no_ , Seonghwa’s own with a small strand of thread. It was yellowish golden instead of the red string that he used to hear when he was little, and it thrummed happily beside his heartbeat—humming in a steady motion indicating that both were overwhelmed with happiness.

“And I love you.” Hongjoong didn’t know what got him when his heart just decided to say that to the only man that he had ever adored.

“You…love me?” They broke the hug, and Hongjoong swore he could see the merman crying from behind the wet veil of black hair.

“I do love you, now why are you crying?”

“B-because no one had ever said that to me before—except for my close friend that I consider more like a baby brother,” The tears were wiped away harshly, but then Seonghwa felt there was a warm hand breaking through his veil of hairs—splitting them so the human’s eyes could see.

The glossy blue and white eye were staring at him—searching for an inkling of ingenuinity, but Seonghwa had found none. Instead, he found adoration and sincerity.

After what seemed to be hours of chatting, giggling and flirting, Seonghwa—who’s in the water—got into the boat again and snatched one of Hongjoong’s sharp daggers from the floor.

“What are you doing?” The man asked, still perplexed by the sudden action.

“I’m gonna cut my hair, my kind had always kept them long…” Seonghwa paused for a small milisecond before sighing and continuing. “And I’m not part of them anymore… well, at least I don’t want to be a part of them anymore,”

Thick, long strands of hair fell on to the boat as Seonghwa severed them with ease. Now that lesser hair was on the mer’s face, Hongjoong could see the high-sculpted cheekbones glistening under the moonlight easier, and honestly, the man is whipped for this look.

“Do you have any spare clothes?” Seonghwa asked.

“Why would you ask that?”

“If I turn to my human form I’ll be naked, dummy.”

 _Human form_? Hongjoong had heard about this, a lot of times, but he was never able to witness it, not like this—when a mer is offering to turn into human.

“I don’t have it here, but surely there are some in my wardrobe that seemed too big for me.”

“Okay, I’ll follow you back, then.”

Hongjoong came back out from his hut only to see Seonghwa lifting his own body up to the grasses, even though the end of the tail can’t seem to be lifted without help.

He helped to drag the heavy, flowy and translucent midninght blue frilled end of Seonghwa’s tail. It was very beautiful, it looked like a thin bride’s veil that was littered with stars—and the mer stared straight to his eyes, with loving and gratefulness etched in it.

The black tail started to shrink into a transparent mess, leaving behind a pair of feet with sheets of transparent scale that Seonghwa started to dispose. The webs on his hands were also falling off like a glove, and the gills that are present on the mer’s neck were closing tightly as Hongjoong carded the inky black hair. It was now dry and fluffy, and the man noticed that it was actually wavy, but he couldn’t just see it under the water.

“Oh yeah, your clothes.” Hongjoong gave the mer his clothes, turning his back for a little privacy.

“Wait.” Seonghwa’s deep, soft voice halted him on his tracks. “I may or may have not forgotten how to stand on my two feet.”

Seonghwa swore he could hear giggles coming out from the man’s mouth as he helped the mer to stand on the soft grass, hands steadily gripping Seonghwa’s small and thin waist, as the mer’s own hands clutched tightly on Hongjoong’s shoulder.

The man felt like a proud father when the next morning he saw Soenghwa, who’s already up and running. And he saw two well-grilled fishes on the plate, wondering of who could ever done this.

“I’ve made you some breakfast, if you don’t mind,” The mer said while sitting down the chair, and chipped peicis off the fish for his own to eat. “Join me,”

Hongjoong did just that, still perplexed of how much his Star could use fire even thoug all his life has been lived under the water.

As if responding to Hongjoong’s questioning, Seonghwa gave an explanation: “I used to have a friend above the water, but somehow he discovered who I am and decided not to meddle with my business again. His name is San, Choi San.”

“Wait, San? He’s a frequent here, always asking me of mermaids and their tales, but never mentioned you.”

“Oh really? When does he usually come?”

“Probably at this hour tomorrow, or five in the evening today,”

Seonghwa stayed silent, but he was still intrigued to meet San again.

“You?!” San pointed his finger to Seonghwa.

“What about me?”

“I’m-I’m… I missed you hyung,” San rushed to hug Seonghwa, and the mer could feel old memories of him and San—at tweleve and eleven years old always playing on the beach until near sundown. “And I missed purple too,” Oh how could he forget to mention the other? The lavender-colored mermaid was always a loyal companion to them both.

“I’ll go fetch him if you want, but would you mind waiting? He can be one lazy ass.”

“That’d be great! Thank you!” San hugged him again, and Hongjoong could feel an inkling of jealousy—but not after Seonghwa pecked his cheek softly.

“Jealous huh, Joong-ah?” The merman smirked, looking at the sulky man beside him.

“Jeez Hwa, you think?"

“My god, you guys are bonded? And you have a name now hyung?” When San saw a nod, he was preactically jumping around happily—happy for both of them.

Hongjoong nearly took him down, since San is damaging his property. “His name is Seonghwa. I gave it to him just last night, okay? Now can you calm the fuck down?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Purple!” San looked so happy seeing the lavender-haired mer the next morning.

“Sani?” His hair was longer than the last time San had seen him, but both were very happy to be reunited again.

“Why did you leave?” Purple asked San when the four of them were sitting on the ground with only the lavender mer inside the water.

“I had to, to protect you guys, and my father wanted me to study in the city, so yeah…” San was obviously sad, but the younger man felt a tug at his sleeve, and when he looked, he saw the purple orbs he had grown to love filled with respect and adoration.

“Thank you.” He felt a kiss on the back of his hands, but he saw a smile on Purple’s mouth—wide enough to fill his empty heart with love again.

“We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone then,” Seonghwa teased them, and tugged Hongjoong to go back to their room.

“Hyung, I need your idea for a name.” After three weeks of talking back and forth with the lavender haired mer, both had decided to take the same path as Hongjoong and Seonghwa.

“I don’t know, you have to come up to it with yourself. I’ll give you a reference book, though,” The old, dusty looking book was given to him, and it contained thousands of possible name ideas that San will surely look one by one.

“Were you like this while searching for my name?” Seonghwa asked Hongjoong when he saw San still rummaging through the pages even when the moon is high.

“Worse, I spent three sleepless nights when coming up with your name. But you love it when I call your name, don't you, Seonghwa?"

"I do, and I love you too."


End file.
